


Realization is a cruel mistress

by WickedDecay



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Chaos Emeralds, Chaos Emeralds are fickle, Docoe and Docoe get a new look, History on Robotnik family, M/M, Military Secrets, The Robotnik family was never really bad, They Do What They Want, sonegg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-08 12:55:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18623710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WickedDecay/pseuds/WickedDecay
Summary: Amy Rose is slowly losing steam in her endeavours to finally make her blue hero see that they are meant for each other. Years have gone by and the games are still afoot although it seems that Eggman has slowed some in his plans for world conquest. She hoped that this decline would bring Sonic closer to her, give them time to see what they could be, but it has done the complete opposite. Now, as she wanders through the wreckage of an old fortress, she stumbles upon a most unlikely pair, discussing plans for the future.And every word will shatter her to her very core.





	Realization is a cruel mistress

**Author's Note:**

> Characters:  
> \- Sonic the hedgehog (last name Zephyr) – 30 years old  
> \- Ivo Julian Robotnik – 65 years old (Roughly, still a young Robotnik considering they can live to about 200 years old)  
> \- Amy Rose – 23 years old
> 
> Notes: (Just so all of you are aware…)  
> \- Robotniks, male or female, age far slower than others, thanks to their connection with the Chaos emeralds, their wish to help others not only giving them their strength and endurance but the intellect as well. However, it comes with some draw backs as well.  
> \- (Millenia ago when the earth was still fresh and new, the cataclysmic event that lead to her beginning also lead to the birth of the Chaos emeralds as well as the Master emerald. The Robotniks, a small family group and extremely forward thinking, lightyears a head of their time where driven to the Chaos emeralds in desperation, caused by a plague that had spread across the globe. Believed to be conceived by one of the existing Mobian warlords of the time, in order to eradicate the weak and leave only the strong, the corruption of the toxin eventually mutated into more than what was intended for it. The Robotniks in turn wished for the knowledge to combat the poison and the pandemic that came along with it and their wish was granted but at a terrible cost. Both genders were given advanced intellect and abilities to disassemble any kind of problem with an ungodly amount of ease, however, females would live longer than males which was one of the many motivations that drove the Robotnik clan to become a matriarchal society. Females were born beautiful and without flaw but were crippled from the inside out, unable to exist outside a clean and quarantined area. This wasn’t the case in the beginning of course, it was a slow and gradual decline but around the time of Gerald’s reign, as seen with Maria, there was no hope of her living anywhere but inside the sterile environment of the ARK. As for the males, they were the most visibly altered, looking like a bizarre mix of human and Mobian splicing. Unlike females, most sickness and the like simply roll off of them, the males unaffected by any form of illness, however, they are known to suffer from insanity should they stray too far from there pack or meander away from the will of their chosen Alpha.)  
> \- This will be about the relationship between Eggman and Sonic so for those that are excepting this to end with Sonic choosing Amy leave now. Hateful comments will not be tolerated.  
> \- I have played with their ages a bit.  
> \- It has been fifteen years as far as the game of tag between Eggman and Sonic is concerned.  
> \- Earth and Mobius have always been the same planet so normal animals are referred to as creatures or pets whereas Mobians are referred to as animals.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing…

*************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Chapter 1

The warm fading hues of sunlight, in the wake of the shy moon, across fractured steel would have been beautiful to her if only she would pause and give it a moment. Her mind however, as she picked her way through rubble and splinted machinery, was a hurricane of thoughts and emotions with no rhyme nor reason. As it had been for years now, in the quiet moments before the next calamity, this lumbering force that had awakened in her would surface, trudging with it all the doubt and hostility she’d been repressing. It was the wolf she had chosen to feed after all, neglecting the one that honed in on contentment and peace, love and sweet memories, in favour of its vicious brother.

Circling her way around the mutilated skull of a fallen android, one that looked strikingly similar to a dragon, Amy Rose continued deeper into the labyrinth of steel and glass, her thoughts hot and alive. Its fangs as long as she was tall, she only pausing in her brooding to regard her reflection and frowned at the sadness that greeted her. 

Despite this, the heavy bags that sunk beneath her emerald eyes, Amy knew that she was beautiful. As the gentle breeze whistled through bullet holds and blast damage, innocently toying with her hair, she took a moment to breech pass the darkness that was drowning her. With a level of scrutiny, she reserved solely for herself, she glared at her reflection, a snarl twisting that peach muzzle of hers.

Why couldn’t he see how beautiful she was?

Why couldn’t he see that they were meant to be together?

The answers were lost to her and much to her surprize, she swore she could hear the wolf she favoured howling in tune with her dismay.

Amy smoothed out her beloved red dress and placed her hands on her hips, cocking them to the side and striking what she believed was a favourable pose. Her fur, which she groomed obsessively, shown with a dazzling brilliance in the setting light, the gold bringing a natural shimmer to her pink pelt. Her hanging quills, which encircled her head, fluttered as the wind changed direction, brushing over her eyes and across her muzzle. To her, she was slender and lean, with narrow hips to which her long red dress embraced and smoothed like a second skin. The only part of her she wished to change was her breasts, the mounts smaller than she would have liked but the collar of this new dress seemed to enhance what she lacked.

Amy frowned and did a small twirl, letting her matching red shoes scuff against the debris as her feet, watching as the dress bellow around her and her quills tossed at the momentum. To her, she was beautiful but it seemed her beauty could not attract and hedgehog she wanted.

Pushing her bangs out of her face, she looked at her pointed ears and tail, looking for something, anything that would give her an answer, but only the wind and creaking metal seemed to echo out in the vacant area. It was just her amongst a sea of destruction and war finally come to an end, or at least until a new danger would rear its ugly head over the horizon and set the world ablaze once more.

But that had not been for a while now, at least several months, which was starting to become to the new norm. The exotic plans were few and far between although they seemed to be getting far more elaborate and dangerous within these stretches of time. Eggman had been quiet, most likely sitting vengeful and hungry amongst his soulless companions, the madness gradually taking its toll.

Again, the snarl was back as she thought of the doctor, his flashing red cloak flaring out like wings behind him, throngs of machines marching in his wake, a darkness creeping after him like a plague. He had been the reason why she had not much opportunity to see that hedgehog she wanted, to bond and romance him into seeing her point of view. He always had to stick his pointy nose where it didn’t belong, sniff out weakness like a jackal hungry for a bite to eat and tearing into the flesh of the innocent with a viciousness the likes of which many had never seen. He took and he never gave, he hungered where nothing would satisfy him and he loomed like an omen over all.

Despite their victories, Eggman could never be caught, for he was like smoke, ever present but untouchable, retreating like a snarling dog till his time would come again.

Her heart thundered as she remembered all the battles waged, her hero, her crush, her everything, jumping into battle at a moment’s notice to send the monster screeching back to wherever it was that he had come from. Where it was simply using the abilities he had, or behind adored in electric gold thanks to the emeralds, Sonic was always there to keep the doctor back.

Yet, these times were fewer now, many believing that the doctor of all robotics was finally reaching his end, that his malice did have a bottom, that it was not as overflowing and endless as they all had assumed. 

Amy had been so grateful for these extended moments of peace, watching not only as life rebuilt itself, but as hope started to kindle in the hearts and eyes of all those whom believed Eggman was the ender of days. She, however, felt a bit of selfish gratitude, eager to use this time to finally get her hands on the one thing she had wanted since the day the blue hedgehog has saved her life.

Sadness took her again and she watched as her reflection buckle under the strain, her bangs seemingly sinking deeper and her back folding onto itself, shoulders slack. She looked like a dog that had been kicked outside and into the rain, abandoned and hopeless. Not even bothering to give it one last look, Amy turned away from the gapping maw of the disabled dragon and continued deeper, the wind colder and nipping as her exposed legs.

A shiver ran through her and she rubbed her arms, giving one particular robot, one that resembled a snake a wider birth. This robot was still very much intact, unlike the other and from experience, she knew of the several saw blades that were concealed within its bulky face. Although the dragon had more in terms of arsenal, the nightmarish hell within this creation’s maw still gave her tremors that took forever to ease.

As she paced a shore of smaller robots, hollow and empty, her thoughts turned back to the dark pool she had dived into, the thoughts that she visited only when she was sure she was alone. Amy wanted to be with Sonic, her very bones and blood told her so. No one else could compare and although other men had tried, she had openly refused them all. The blue pelted hero was her everything, always had been and after fifteen years of dogging his every move she found that the game had changed recently.

Without her really understanding how it all had happened, something about their dynamic had changed, something had altered the playing field and she was left reeling. Struggling as the carpet had been pulled from right under her feet, she tried to grasp at what she knew.

Sonic was avoiding her, more than usual. 

It was nothing new really, it was clear that when playing hard to get, Sonic took the game extremely seriously, but Amy was more cunning then most believed and she liked a good chase. If anything, this was a way of proving she was worth it, a test to determine her skill. But now, ever since the confrontations between Eggman had been getting fewer and longer in-between, Sonic’s personality had started to change. He was more standoffish, both to her and to even Tails, whom at one point she had considered to be an equal rival in Sonic’s attention. He rarely visited around the house or anyone they knew within the boarders of Station Square, which was as close to a home base as Sonic was ever going to get.

He was the wind incarnate and couldn’t handle staying in one place for too long, looking for adventure and running just to keep boredom away and out of mind.

Amy understood this, though she wished to whatever god was happening to listen in that he would just stay at her side forever. However, now it wasn’t so much chasing the boredom, so much as it was hounding down Eggman. His thoughts seemed consumed by this almost primal need to keep with doctor within striking distance which was utterly odd compared to his usual lackadaisical evaluation and exploitation of anything the scientist made and did. 

At first, Amy and Tails had been all for it. The first few times Eggman’s plans had been stretched out a tad to long to be considered normal, they combed massive areas to determine the madman’s location, Sonic relentlessly leading the charge.

The thing with Eggman however, and they had come to learn very quickly, was when he didn’t want to be found, he was literary a ghost in the wind. No high and no hair of him could be found anywhere. All of twin tailed fox’s machines turning up a fat wad of nothing and Sonic seemingly looking unconvinced. It had no gotten to the point where Sonic would simply drop everything and continue to search the globe for the mad genius, long after Amy and Tails given up. 

As Amy further studied Sonic’s behaviour, she had come to notice things she had never believed she would ever see the young blue hero express. Normally, fear and anxiety were things that would be furthest form the mind when considering all the things that Sonic personified. He was aggressive, loyal, lazy to an extent, hungry for adventure and the next big thing that would spur adrenaline through his veins. Now, with these long gaps, Amy started to see the beginnings of panic, nervous ticks and even an obsessive track way of thinking. 

At first, she assumed the obvious, that this was all directed towards the doctor’s fewer visits and usually, if past behaviour taught them anything, the longer the doctor sat and vexed over something, the more dangerous the plan became. To her, this change in behaviour was understandable considering the lengths Eggman could and would go to in order to bring the world to its knees. However, as it became the new norm and the hedgehog hero’s actions didn’t seem to alleviate, Amy grew not only concerned but intrigued.

Still, even with these gaps, she shrugged it off and continued her plans to made Sonic crawl on his knees for her.

Rubbing her shoulders again, the pink hedgehog carefully picked her way through a large puddle of glass, this shower having resulted from the suspended cockpit above her head, its shadow casting long and dark over the burn sands and rubble. Another dragon, this one smaller and painted green and she shuttered violently at the realisation, quickly urging herself as far away as possible from it.

Unlike the first she had encountered, which was built solely to mow over anyone and everything that got it its way, this one, to her was far more sinister. Armed with lethal poisons, its job was not only to cut down ranks but swoop in a head of the armada and gas out the vermin from where they hid. They either stayed hidden and choked on their own breath or surfaced and were blown away in the wake of what had been trailing behind the green abomination.

Once she was sure she was far enough away, her thoughts continued, the gradually setting sun warm against her skin despite the nipping wind. It was almost autumn so it would make sense that the days would get colder.

She shivered at that, her thoughts taking a turn towards the doctor, realizing with a far amount of terror that he was active in the winter, seemingly unaffected by the drop-in temperature where as most mobians and humans had a great deal of trouble within the snowy season. Machines were oblivious to the chill and plowed through banks and mountains of snow as if nothing. 

Amy could remember seeing him once, marching alongside his creations. Still dressed in the bright reds and blacks that were only associated to him and everything he stood for, he casually picked his way through the snow, flanked by massive machines with gapping jaws rimmed with not only serrated teeth but guns. The snow and whirling winds only accentuated the might and unshakable air they displayed, bullets rolling off their armoured bodies like the very snow that covered the grounds.

He had seen her, she had been sure of it. Wordlessly locked, the machine he favoured turned fully around to face her, the machines around him however, only marched on. Its paws sunk into the snow with weight and purpose, the lights and steam that rolled off it giving the appearance of a demon and to this day Amy could feel and touch the terror that had crippled her to that spot. Yet, against all reason she could surmise, he let her go. Turning back around, he disappeared like a ghost through a wall, back into the horde, following their decent upon the more military forces like wolves to listless sheep.

Amy never questioned why he left her alone, but years later the answer was obvious. She was nothing to him. The pink hedgehog, despite her hammer, could not match the ferocity and the might he and his machines could accomplish. With her friends in toe, maybe she would have been braver and stood some ground, but alone, she too was a sheep and he the hungry predator.

If anything, Eggman regarded all beneath him as nothing short of useless, safe for Sonic and the reasons why did not need going into.

Afterall, the love of her life was the reason, the only reason, why Eggman had not yet succeeded.

Giving another shutter, Amy continued, diving back into her previous train of thought.

Although this new routine had become just that, routine, Sonic refused to sit and wait and instead moved to locate and confront the doctor before the next unveiling. 

Amy had tried to follow him but was naturally left to choke and spit on the dust that remained as the speedster raced off to parts unknown. The strangest bit however, the part of the scenario that still eluded to make any sense to her, was when the doctor finally chose to crawl up from his lair and snarl. 

Whenever Sonic was near her and the doctor was around, she swore she saw a level of giddiness wash over him, like a friend seeing another after a long time of being apart. Sonic looked beyond excited anytime the doctor made a return and was off in a second to confront him, long before she or any of his friends could decided what to do. 

Another thing was most of the battles between the two, that had once been public affairs for all to see, two titans standing for their morals clashing for the faith of the earth, were now all but gone. Most of the time and she had been paying extremely close attention, Sonic would be forced out of the lair and forcibly tossed aside after an hour or two of she and every available GUN operative attempting to hold back the mechanical horde.

Sonic, to what Amy could decipher, looked heartbroken. Sadness, another look that did not suit him, pulling that usually smirking muzzle into a frown. Then try as he might to race back in, Eggman would retreat, half his battalion following after whilst the rest attempted to bring down as many as they could before being destroyed themselves.

Naturally, with Tails in tow, they would question and bagger the blue hedgehog as to what had happened.

Where the emeralds involved?

Did he hurt you?

What was he planning?

Where is he going?

Should we go after him?

All of these questions Sonic would force down and immediately speed away, off into the direction Eggman had just fled towards. He would naturally return several days later, looking beat and frustrated, tossing himself of her couch, saying he couldn’t find him and would vainly try again in the morning.

After all, an Eggman that doesn’t want to be found before the next curtain call, will not show itself.

Running her fingers through her quills and giving her head a shake, Amy struggled to understand what this all meant and how this all had happened. Was if possible that Sonic wasn’t really who they thought he was and this imposter was simply a machine? It wouldn’t be too farfetched and considering the odd behaviour Sonic was presenting over the last five years, it was certainly a valid argument. It would explain the attitude and his reluctance to be with her.

Machines can’t feel or understand love, it is beyond their collective programing and much to her well founded belief, beyond the scope of Eggman as well.

A sudden rustle of movement altered her that she was not alone and out of instinct, she flattened herself against a nearby husk of a fallen GUN tank, its entire upper half cleaved right off, and pulled out her hammer. It materialized in her hands and she gripped it so snuggly the fabric of her gloves squeaked against the smoothness of the handle.

From her shadowed location, ears pressed forwards and listening, she watched as two androids combed over the husk of another battle torn dragon, sniffing around with red eyes flaring and flickering. Almost immediately she recognized them and a stone of panic slammed hard into her stomach.

The two droids were none other than a rebuild Decoe and Bocoe, build as dogs but large enough to be considered horses. These new versions of what had once been laughable and utterly useless robots only further proved the evolution of the doctor as time rolled on. They were destructive and brutally savage, armed to the teeth with all manner of guns and blades that could cut through anything and anyone. But the worst part and to her utter despair was that if they were here, then Eggman himself wasn’t too far behind.

If it was physically possible, her heart would have dropped straight out of her chest and onto the scorched earth below.

Decoe, a gold painted machine, was built to model the body of a Great Dane, tall and slender. He was faster and far more agile than Bocoe, usually using this advantage to stalk and shadow or even throw the first punch. Painted silver, its brother was modelled to the shape of an American Johnson bulldog, hefty and heavy and built to mow things down without even a flinch of resistance. Amy had seen him single handily flip over a government tank just by tackling it.

Amy realized all too quickly that she was in a very bad predicament since these two would see her, in was only a matter of when. Hidden as she was, Tails had told her that he suspected they could see the heat signatures of living things and from a considerable distance to boot. Although Tails had no chance to study them to confirm this assumption, when the fight was long since over, he had seen them comb the entrails of battered machines and pull still breathing victims out. Many of these cases could have only have been reached if they had been capable of locking on to the heat signatures naturally exuded by a living breathing creature. 

They had even proven capable of articulating smells and deciphering them, much like the common dog or wolf, but to how strong of a degree the fox boy hadn’t a clue, solely because they never left Eggman’s side.

Mind racing, Amy struggled to understand why they were here, the two causally picking through the rubble of an old dragon, pulling of wires and digging through consoles.

This battlefield had been abandoned for years, one of the reasons why Amy had chosen it for her evening walks. The bodies of the dead had long since been removed and anything tangible to sell on the black-market had already been pulled and cleaved from the wreckage. The fight that had taken place here was actually one of the last that had followed the old routine, a battle every few months with seemingly endless amongst of metal bodies to spur the gears of war.

That was five years ago, exactly.

To her thinking, they had no reason to revisit this place, unless…

Hope burned in her chest for the briefest of seconds.

What if Eggman had died somehow? Possibly at his own hand conducting some new time of experiment?

That small flicker of hope was immediately snuffed out however when an all to familiar sound echoed out through the emptiness. The dogs stopped immediately at the sound and turned towards its direction, ears perked and reading, listening and understanding.

The sound sent a cold shiver down Amy’s spine. It was sharp and loud, but strangely metallic, a whistle that was being used by an android. Shrill as it was it also distinctly reminded Amy of winter, the gusts of snow and ice hurtling at the door with such force during the height of the season that it shook the very house.

As soon as it stopped, as abrupt as it had started, Docoe and Bocoe were off like a shot, sprinting towards the direction, engaging thrusters along their backs.

Again, that sickening cold feeling constricted her heart, chilling it deeper as it curled tighter and tighter. The sound only confirmed what she had assumed before, Eggman was here within the husks of old battlements, for only he had that kind of instrument to call them.

The dead can’t speak so her hopes that he had unintentionally offed himself were dashed.

Still, despite all this, the sound seemed closer than she had originally thought. Normally, all the times she had heard it, it had been leagues away, far beyond her reach. This was not one of those times however, it seemed as if it was only a could of yards away this time.

Normally, she would have run but curiosity had gotten the better of her.

Amy couldn’t recall the last time she had actually seen Eggman face to face, part of her even wondered if he looked the same has he had all those years ago. Sonic flew at the crack just to tangle with the doctor and this left his wary crew usually in his dust and by the time they caught up, the fight was over and Eggman was gone.

Maybe, this was the moment she was waiting for, an opportunity to see what exactly was going on, see something, anything that would elude to the fact of what had not only caused this change in Eggman but in Sonic too.

Giving only a few minutes in waiting, just to make sure the dogs were far enough ahead, Amy unveiled herself and sprinted after them. They had long since left her in the dust but she knew the general direction and every few feet there was footprints, fresh and untainted by the shifting debris and whipping winds. The wrecked bodies of machines flew by her, mangled and snarling in pain, frozen for all eternity till they finally were swallowed up by nature itself and back into the earth.

Finally, the blood rushing in her ears and her breathing haggard, she found them, standing tall and unmoving in a small clearing, the result of a serpent mech curling into itself to form an almost impenetrable shield. She assumed a well targeted missile had hit its jaw before it could complete the procedure and it had toppled over. 

Positioning herself towards the base of the tail, the spike and spears that lined the tip providing excellent cover.

Although the snake was large, she knew that she would still be in range if the dogs decided to look to the left but it seemed they were preoccupied, long whip like tails raised and the panels over their spines raising and shifting in what she knew to be hostility.

However, her concerns for them melted away within an instant, her eyes landing on the towering form beside them. Again, Amy’s felt her heart threaten to jump out her chest. Fear, cold and primal was curing in her stomach, egging on the wolf that she so loved to feed.

In all his glory, red and violent, stood the infamous doctor himself, surrounded by machine and metal and death.

The only sense of relief she tasted, however small and fleeting it was, was his back was turned to her, his gaze centred solely on something in front of him. She was lost and only known by his shadow.

Almost immediately, she regretted her decision to follow them however, as she clutched tighter at the barbs of steel that covered Amy noticed something off about the doctor.

For as long as she could remember, Eggman was a tall lanky man with a round belly that was the main reason behind his nickname. Now however, he was lean with strong muscular shoulders, some of that new-found musculature located on his legs and thighs. His usual red jacket was no where to be seen, instead he was adorned in a thick, heavy looking black coat rimmed with red fur around the collar and sleeves, accentuating the broadness of his shoulders and chest. His googles, the ones forever stapled to the top of his head, gleamed in the setting sun, gold and red reflecting off polished silver and black. His leggings looked the same but on close examination, she realized they too had been altered. Tight and formfitting, these new black leather leggings showered off muscular thigs and calves, a couple of odd belts were tightened around his left leg. The last thing she noticed were his boots, now reaching up to a couple of inches below the knees, they too looked heavy and most likely were steel-toed.

When this transformation had happened and how, were immediately a mystery, going hand in hand with the odd laceration crawling around the back of his skull. They looked surgical for when she squinted her eyes, she could distinctly make out the scares left by the large stitches keeping a gapping hold closed. It also was split directly down the center of his head, looking as if it also curled up and on top of his skull.

Out of curiosity, she followed the direction to where Eggman was focused and felt her heart surge with joy. There, in that very same clearing was the man of her dreams, staring up at the doctor.

At first, Amy’s first instinct was to jump to his side, that they would fight this monster off together, the fantasy alive and hot in her mind, but then she got a good look at Sonic’s face and her willingness to make herself known died on the spot. This somehow left like an intrusion, the determination of the hedgehog’s face was different from what she was used to.

Unlike the doctor, whom barely resembled himself, Sonic looked relatively unchanged. His quills blowing in the wind, cowlicked accents tussling with them, he looked ready to hunker down for something. Emerald eyes, a light with something she could not recognize, burned solely for the man in front of him, but not in hate or vicious revenge. It was something hot and heavy, but far from hostile. Tall and lanky, his blue fur seemed to glow brighter in the setting hues of the sun and her heart fluttered in awe, taken aback by the beauty he could so effortlessly show without even realizing it. White gloves and red shoes were something he was trademarked for, though dirt dusted jeans covered him from the waist down. A red bandana was tightly fastened around his neck, flapping softly against his peach stomach.

The wind gusted strongly over head again, toying with the hedgehog hero’s quills and Eggman’s flowing coattails, a shuttering page of newspaper flickering passed before getting lost somewhere amongst the wreckage. Decoe snarled deeply, sounding both animal-like and metallic, a stuttering clicking tapering off at the end as he took a threatening step forward. Bocoe mimicked the sound, only it sounded far deeper, the clicks more like snaps.

Amy’s heart pounded in her ears as a small flicker of concern sped across her subconscious. It would only take a brief signal from their master and they would attack.

Sonic looked wary of them but did not move, his eyes bouncing back between the two before settling once more on the doctor, “You didn’t have to call them.”

The doctor rolled his shoulders, looking very much from Amy’s point of view like a cornered dog attempting to puff itself out. “They are an extension of me, they go where I go.”

Subconsciously, she took note that his voice had changed too, not by much but it was something. Although still gravelly and with the capacity of being shrill, when used as a matter of fact, it was deeper and hung in the air like a poised guillotine.

Decoe howled at that and took another step, those panels along its spine shuttering so violently they that might have just flown off. Bocoe however hunkered down some, bracing itself with a wide stance and pawing the dirt with all too long claws. Rose knew that stance and all too quickly her heart was in her throat. 

Still, the blue hero did not flinch, looking strangely melancholy as he settled his ears back, “I wanted to talk to you.”

Where Amy suddenly felt the burn of curiosity, the doctor bristled hard, a snarl twisting his lips and noticeably smaller moustache. It was only thanks to a jarring head shake that she got to see it, like a dog revving itself up for a bite. It didn’t look as long as she remembered, nor as wild and untamed. 

“The feeling isn’t mutual, you’re wasting your precious time.”

He made the motion to turn around and again Amy thought her heart would drop through her chest. He would see her if he did but if she tired to bolt, the dogs would catch on to the movement. Panic gripped her and again, she tightened her hold on her hammer.

It seems, not even aware of her presence, Sonic was always there to save her, the hedgehog taking a step and outstretching his hand. The metallic hounds of hell rattled in repulsion. “Please, just hear me out!”

As Eggman spun back around, the pink hedgehog breathed a sigh of relieve. “You’ve already spoken your piece and I believe I have already answered.”

As the dogs nudged closer, saliva, or something to mimic its consistency dripped down the fluttering shells of their jowls and Sonic seemed to make a point to ignore them. His voice was pleading, shaky and almost lost, three expressions of emotion that seemed all too alien on her bodacious hedgehog’s face and character. 

“Can’t you understand that it doesn’t have to be this way?”

It seemed whatever they were going on about, Eggman was stubbornly digging his heels into the sand, moving to cross his arms over his chest, leering down at the hedgehog. “There is no other way.”

Sonic’s face seemed to narrow in frustration, his hands curling into fits, “I saw the tapes, I saw what the military did to your family.”

Amy blinked in surprize, dumbfounded but the statement. Strangely, it had never occurred to her that Eggman actually had a family or even had had parents. It had always seemed to her that he had just morphed into the world, like a ghost from the grave. All he was and all he had ever spouted was directed towards the future, never once venturing behind, towards anything personal. Many even had started to speculate that he was simply an afterthought of the emeralds, something to bring chaos if only to achieve balance.

After all, one cannot understand darkness and sorrow if all they have ever been exposed to is light and happiness.

It made sense to her at least because even stopping to think that a woman had given birth to such a monster made her skin crawl and her fur want to simply vacate her body.

That vicious snarl lessened some and a new sensation, neither hostility, nor rage could be felt. “They did what was necessary. Fear is an automatic response, the only response.”

It was frank and obtuse, clearly a deflection and it made something inside of her burn.

Sonic blinked at the blankness of the response and snarled, stomping his foot so hard both dogs growled and shuttered. “Murdering your mother right in front of you was necessary?”

Wait, what?

GUN, the military protector of everything and anything that even so much as threatened the safety of earth was responsible for killing off the good doctor’s family? Obviously, she knew of the entire arc with Shadow and what the military had done, but she was not the least bit aware that Eggman’s family had also been flung into the crosshairs. Gerald had been executed because of his terrible experiments as well as his wishes to destroy the world for its ultimate betrayal. Was it possible that all Robotniks had lived up on the ARK? It seemed likely since no soul outside the military had even heard of the name Robotnik. More so, did that mean to keep everything under wraps, to hide the true creators of all their spectacular weapons, they had been fully ready to eradicate an entire race simply for the actions of one man?

Eggman seemed immediately off put by the mention of his mother and even his vicious dogs had stopped their steady advance towards her blue savior. They looked dumbfounded and stole many quickly glances towards each other and then at their boss. 

After a moment, which seemed to stretch on forever, Eggman sighed, looking strangely wary and tired. “You don’t understand.”

Sonic narrowed his eyes tighter and dared to take another step, “Then enlighten me.”

Again, the doctor bristled, white teeth flashing. “I don’t want to waste my breath.”

“It wouldn’t be a waste, not to me.” The Hedgehog pleaded, his position only slightly out of striking distance of the two hounds that seemed at a loss as to what to do. “Don’t you understand that I get it? Everything you’ve ever done, it wasn’t you, not even close. It was what Gerald wanted you to do.”

Gerald? 

What did he had to do with all of this?

Amy blinked as her gaze shifted between the two, her mind spinning and her heart sinking into something she swore was dread. For the life of her, had she not been experiencing the entire event right before her eyes, she never would have believed that their arch nemesis was having a conversation of all things with her one and only true love. They were always so volatile that the idea that they could come together and speak for once instead of simply fighting like rabid hounds in a pit seemed completely out of their league. The thing that was most shocking however, was how familiar they sounded when they spoke, as if this had been going on for longer than she had first imagined.

Eggman hummed in dissatisfaction, that mustache twisting into a sneer. He had positioned himself at an angle and it was only because of that she was able to see at leas part of his face. “I do what I like, the dead do not control me.”

Sonic shook his head determinedly, fists at his sides, looking as if not even one of Eggman’s mechs could push him over. “But the chip he implanted did. Don’t think I haven’t noticed the scars, you took it out.”

Amy blinked again in shock as she turned to observe the injury webbing across the back of the doctor’s skull.

A chip…as in a microchip? 

The very idea baffled her, more so why neither she not Tails had heard anything of this from the blue hedgehog himself. How long had Sonic known about this and what exactly did this mean?

For them?

For her?

Again, it seemed the doctor was willing the brush the observation off, no doubt resisting the urge to touch at the lacerations the way his hands fiddled with the cloth of his sleeves. “It was giving me a headache.”

A smirk curved onto Sonic’s face, but it was not even close to condescending. “I think the truly good person in you was finally starting to show some spine, rebelling against its suggestions and manipulation.”

Manipulation?

Amy could hardly believe it. If this was true, did that mean everything they fought for was a lie? 

No.

No, it couldn’t have been, Eggman was obviously up to his old tricks again and had somehow convinced Sonic otherwise of his true intentions. That was the only explanation she could come up with. Maybe he had implanted something within her hero’s mind and this was simply an illusion concocted in his mind to try and see good in someone that simply had not a trace of it left?

“I am a great deal of many things, hedgehog,” he breathed, looking down right feed up with the whole conversation, “but good is not one of them.”

The hedgehog smiled at him, but it was not a smile that Amy was used to seeing. It was soft, with not a trace of arrogance or spite or crude boyish behaviour to be seen. It was not something a teen would dare to show on his face, but that of a man and a spark of longing flamed within. 

“You saved me.”

Amy felt her heart skip a beat.

What did he just say?

Eggman snorted hard and the sound seemed to knock the dogs out of the dumbfounded stupor they had been currently trapped in. Decoe, the first to act in any situation, erupted into what Amy could only descript as a major hissy-fit, scales clattering down the length of his spine and across his sides like an agitated snake rattle. Bocoe merely pawed at the dirt and squared his shoulders again, ears attentive and waiting for a signal. 

“That was one of many mistakes.”

Since when did this happen?

What was going on here?

The hedgehog tapered down his voice again as his ears smoothed up against his head, looking so vulnerable it made Amy want to squirm. “Ivo, please. Please just hear me out, don’t make me chase you again.”

Ivo?

They were on first name bases!?

The only reason Rose knew anything about the doctor’s actual name was because he had spoken it aloud, the very first time they had crossed his path and stood scared, terrified even, but ready. However, this instance had been only time and was so long ago that if Sonic had not said it, the pink hedgehog would have continued to have it festering and unremembered somewhere deep within her brain.

A snarl, something more animal than human, tore itself from the doctor’s throat and the dogs at his sides shivered expectantly. “You have no right to use that name.”

Sonic however seemed to ignore him, ears still folded back, meek. “I spoke to the military, showed them the files I found on the ARK. They’re going to remove the Commander, turn him in for his crimes and the lies he and his family have been selling to everyone for years. They are even offering you a job amongst their top scientists.”

If Amy wasn’t already lost enough, her mind itself felt as if it was flung through the deepest reaches of the twilight zone. 

They were speaking, not fighting with each other and the normalcy of how they communicated showed to her that they had done this several times before. More then any conversation between herself and her hero. What stung the most however was the tenderness, Sonic looking wounded and hopeful, begging in the malicious doctor’s presence like a pet hungry for even a scrap of attention. This was not how she expected to see the foundation of her being, the reason for her existence, why she even bothered to fight a man that seemed to have no limitations.

And now, there was talk of conspiracy between the ranks of GUN, something she assumed had only the best intentions for everyone in mind. They were after all a foundation of military might, encompassing of all manner of able-bodied individuals from Human to Mobian alike. They’re goal was to keep the planet that housed and nurtured them alive, safe and thriving. She had had the opportunity of meeting the Commander before, a curious older male with different coloured eyes, a heart of stone and blood of ice. When he spoke, the world seemed to stop in its effortless spin and listen with attentive ears and baited breath. He seemed nice enough to her though, having helped them out of several situations over the years and their unyielding support was always offered to the blue hedgehog without so much as a flicker of hesitation.

They despised everything Eggman stood for, everything he rot and the devastation in his wake as he burned armies to the ground. He was terror incarnate for GUN and the only real force on this earth that could oppose and win against their collective might, even with Sonic’s help. They had never a reason to question the military and even with the episode with Shadow, the reasons why they had acted the way they had were understandable, at least to her. Yes, it was overkill, letting everyone suffer for the actions of one man, but it had been necessary, he wanted to murder then all, drunk and mad over his own exploits.

It was his own fault…

…right?

Then again, the aggressive actions Gerald took were out of grief, the military, out of fear and perhaps even stupidity, urging them to charge in without thinking and take everything away in one fell swoop. Everyone was killed at the sake of keeping everything under wraps without really understanding what was going on and even the doctor’s true motives. Innocent bystanders, the whole Robotnik clan if what Sonic said was true, all dead because of a misunderstanding.

Amy shook her head and clutched it, her brain throbbing as her heart raced with indecision. What did this all mean?

What was happening right in front of her?

Something…

Something was changing.

This would not play out as all the other times had.

That deep unforgiving voice snapped her from her thoughts, the Robotnik rolling his shoulders again, “I want nothing they have to offer, I just want to be left alone.”

“Please take it,” insisted the blue hedgehog, ears still flat against his head, “you can build for something bigger than yourself and I know that’s what you’ve wanted all along. All those theme parks you’ve built over the years? They never were for you, they were for Maria.”

“What are you talking about?”

Amy blinked, what was he talking about?

Sonic shook his head, a new flicker of determination alighting across his eyes. “Don’t play dumb, it’s beneath you.”

Decoe and Bocoe looked visibly upset by the statement, though Rose remarked that it was neither aggressive or patronizing. It was more akin to a friend urgently telling another that all those terrible things those schoolyard bullies had said were not true. Bocoe took a snap at the blue hero with gapping jaws but the Mobian swiftly dodged them, stepping a respectable distance away.

Undeterred but cautious of the hunched and murderous looking canines, Sonic continued, “You and Shadow loved her more than anything and would stop at nothing to get her to smile. She couldn’t be apart of things normal children could and the thing she wanted most was to go down to earth and ride amusement park rides. Be a kid for once instead of a Robotnik matriarch, one of many that are biologically crippled by illness.”

So, all Robotnik females were born with genetic defects or limitations? 

Why?

Was this a result of all the possible experiments they conducted aboard the ARK? Or was this something that simply came with being a Robotnik?

Questions only whirled faster in Amy’s head as she curled closer to the steel that was covering her. The night was looming in now, less colours could be seen as the darkness was gradually taking its hold over the world. She guessed in would only be a few hours till the stars would attempt to shine through the bleak and glow within the night’s ambiance. Still the setting sun had not completely vanished from view however, its warm golden rays still bathed over the four figures standing motionless within the embrace of a destroyed snake mech. She, an interloper on this surprisingly revealing conversation was cloaked and hidden from the sun’s last hours of sympathetic touch.

And still Sonic continued, undeterred and strong, pointing a finger at the man that she and all her friends had chased relentlessly for years. “You wanted to give that to her and that’s what the chip manipulated. It took those dreams of a five-year-old boy and contorted them, twisted them into something dark. I would even wager that this contempt for government is only another altered reflection of a poor kid who had to witness the entire execution of his race.”

So, all of his family was murdered on the ARK that day.

It only further solidified why Shadow had been so aggressive and uncaring towards all life on the planet that had decided all he had ever known was too dangerous to reason with, or keep around any longer. Even more telling and something she had not accounted for was Eggman’s age. Five years old and to see all of that misfortune. However, with this interesting reveal, only brought more questions, the most striking to her was what had happened between then and now, the void of fifty years. 

Why wait so long before revolting against the machine that had doomed his family? 

Eggman had morphed out of the shadows and into the light without so much as a warning or inkling of notice. What had occurred within the gap?

Where was he?

Silence stretched out for a moment before the Robotnik spoke, looking so still and tense that Amy was afraid this friendly banter they had going would snap beneath them like a dry twig. “So, is that why you’ve come here, like so many other times before? To pity and empathize with the devil himself?”

Again, the blue hedgehog shook his head, that smile back, the one that made Amy’s little heart do flips. “You are not the devil, I’ve never thought of you that way.”

Well I sure did, Amy thought to herself. Despite all this new information, illuminating as if was, she was still left unsure by its authenticity, or another elaborate lie.

“What of my crimes, the cities I have levelled, the lives I have destroyed?” came a steady and smooth offer from the former madman himself, “That is not so easily swept under the rug.”

Sonic stomped his foot in frustration again, both dogs taking an intimating step forward. “I don’t care what you’ve done, can’t you see that?”

Eggman bent forward slightly, using the considerable height difference between them to his advantage. It was substantial to say the least, the poor hedgehog hero only around four feet tall whilst the genius himself stood more than six feet. Those long dexterous fingers drummed steadily against his forearm and the calculating look that went along with it gave Amy terrible ice-cold shivers down her spine. That was a look she was all too familiar with, as dangerous as it was cunning. It was the look the devil gave you right before he took your soul as payment.

“I wasn’t asking for your acceptance,” came a steady rebuttal, “I question the intentions of the military. They, like so many other things, cannot let sleeping dogs lie.”

Decoe nodded vigorously at that, ropes of salvia flying through the air and slapping wetly against the charred dirt. Bocoe merely snarled and ruffled the panels along his face, exposing other layers underneath as well as another hidden row of serrated fangs.

“They are willing to overlook everything at my word.”

Eggman harrumphed and judging by the way his brows had moved above his darkened glasses, rolled his eyes hard. “You are nothing but the golden pet of manipulative rats, nothing more and I have no need for a military dog to give me orders.”

“This isn’t about me establishing dominance over you.” Defended the hedgehog, looking and sounding desperate, like he was losing his grip over something. The struggle was so tangible, so profound, Amy could feel it even from where she stood. “Can’t you see I’d be nothing without you?”

“What are you babbling on about?” The emotion that Amy had heard earlier was gone and in its place was cold unyielding steel. The genius was losing his patience it seemed, the hard roll of his shoulders was something she had come to associate as both a nervous and angry twitch.

More shocking than the rapidly escalating turn of events was that Sonic himself had developed a strikingly similar twitch. Only difference was it involved his neck. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember if he had always had this twitch or if it was something new, something that had only started to rear its head due to the chance meetings between him and the good old doctor.

What bothered her more however, was how terribly nervous her hero looked, how he was now shifting his weight from side to side, his arms looking like they were fighting not to absently sway. His eyes were less fierce, if anything, fear had taken root them like a dark little seed of doubt and subconsciously in her own heart as well. Then it was gone as soon as it was there, that never say never attitude back in full swing but it was tempered down. 

He was serious again.

The kind of serious she didn’t see all to often for more often than not, to Sonic, life was just one big game and he treated it just as it should be treated. As a game.

Aloof and standoffish, involving himself only as much as needed and never more.

But this was not one of those times, no.

He was throwing everything he had into this confrontation, his soul included by the way the resolution to succeed seemed to be burning in his emerald eyes.

“Do you know what I was before you broke out of the Commander’s hold?” he asked suddenly, the question seemingly uprooting the nasty grin that had been forming on Eggman’s face. Sonic continued before he could answer of course, powering right through like a tank through a barricade. 

“Before you broke out of stasis and the chip Gerald had implanted had taken over everything about you?”

Wait, so the Commander was responsible for letting this monster out of his cage?

He had been locked away?

Was that the reason for the fifty-year gap? That the only reason he had survived the exodus aboard the ARK was because someone had taken him away after the fact, spared him? Only of course to seal him away?

Still, the genius of all robotics and beyond looked ill impressed, unmoving and adamant, like a statue sneering at a howling storm. “Enlighten me.”

The wind howled throughout the charred desert, its sands littered over the mechs and tanks of both sides, frozen in the march of war. With its rush of fury, came the hush of silence, dropping like a stone between the crowd and the hiding interloper.

Sonic fumbled within the sneer of mother nature, his body shifting from side to side, his eyes rolling down the doctor’s body and hitting the floor hard, locking with his boots. His jaw was working, she could see it, as if tasting and resampling what he wanted to say before even thinking of spitting it out. Amy found her heart hammering so loudly in her ears that part of her was scared that in his indecision, they would be aware of her invasion into this oddly personal dispute. Her intrigue was killing her but at the same time it drove a cold shiver down her spine. She did not think she would ever get used to a Sonic that showed anything other than smug confidence and bravery.

He looked afraid, he looked wishful but most of all, he looked desperate.

Sonic was searching for his voice, moving his mouth, his eyes still glued to the floor, but nothing be air slipping past his lips. Amy half expected the doctor to turn on a heel and leave, but to her surprise, he stayed rooted, looking down at his archenemy with something she could not define. Of course, that could have been because of the glasses but even still, he was not so easy a mark when it can to what was going on inside that skull of his. 

His thoughts were as much of an enigma as his existence on this earth.

Finally, after what seemed far too long a pause for a hedgehog that thrived on everything fast and now, he spoke, his eyes gradually meeting back up with Ivo’s. 

He was fiddling with his gloved fingers, something she had never seen him do. “I was a bum; did you know that?”

A bum?

Truth be told, Amy had never considered that part of her crush and soon to be lover. Like Eggman, he always seemed to be a force that moved forward and never back, not even to reminisce on things that had happened. All that mattered in Sonic’s eyes was the here and now. If he never intended to tell her, Amy could have lived with that, for her mind had never even given it the time of day, but now that it was vocalized, her heart burned for the answer.

Subconsciously, she clutched her weapon tighter and swallowed hard, leaning forward ever so slightly.

Eggman remained as silent as the dead, hardly moving a muscle and looked relatively unamused by the information, but he made no indication of stopping the blue hedgehog. He simply watched and listened and his menacing hounds did the same, pointed ears perched and facing his direction.

Licking his lips and taking a deep breath, he continued, his voice soft, “I lived off the streets, no family, no friends and no money. I was the street rat.” He chuckled some at that though it was humourless and dry, old hatred and resentment still clinging to the dusty shelves of something he had abandoned so long ago.

“My mother had abandoned me because of my gift, a gift she had asked the Chaos emeralds to grant me so that I could be safe. We were always on the run because of my father’s terrible choices, so it only made sense for her to wish that they would never catch me.” There was a hint of a smile at his muzzle and Amy felt her heart want to burst from her chest.

She would never have imagined that such a carefree and loving individual like him could have been born within such circumstances. It didn’t seem right.

Again, with no move or protest from the genius himself, Sonic continued, “No different from when your family asked the emeralds to assist you in helping others. Only difference was my mother didn’t understand the repercussions of the wish, my temper, my need for adventure, my…speed……and my weakness to water.”

His voice turned strangely sour and with a twisted expression it seemed even he had trouble tasting the confessions in his mouth, “My father was never really my father, just a man that filled in for the real one that got scared and fucked off.” His gaze lowered to the doctor’s boots again, ears slicked back and she could have sworn she saw his tail curl between his legs.

Although she was riveted to what was coming next, a small part of her twitched at such a dirty word, again, not something she had ever heard Sonic use.

“I had this gift but no one wanted me, I could help people in a heart beat but the knowledge of where I had got it from scared people and they called me a demon.” He swallowed hard, “Hedgehogs are very superstitious you know so they were not pleased with my mother or me.” 

Then the look shifted, his spine straightening with a flicker of what Amy could have sworn was awe flashing like lightning over his emerald eyes. He stood up straight and stared up at the male that had brought governments to their knees. The expression was something Amy figured to be a twist of realization, determination and…worship?

“But then you came along, do you remember? Your mechs descending down Green Hill. I decided if I had nothing to live for I would try to do something with my life, even if it meant dying and somehow, I managed to triumph over you.” His eyes went misty with reflection, the memory of that faithful day no doubt swimming pleasantly before his eyes like a beautiful koi in a clear pond. 

“People wanted me,” he began after a moment, conviction starting to burn behind his words and Amy heaved a sigh of relief, it was a tone she was more familiar with. “they wanted to help me, be my friend, give me places to say. I went from being a rat no better than the filth that climbs sewer drains to the most worshiped and idolized figure in less than a day.”

Finally, the titan of man moved, a loud sign exhaling from his thin lips. Eggman grunted and rolled his shoulders again, looking down at his enemy like he was nothing more than a stain, his voice tight. “We all have vices boy; my life was far from pretty.”

Sonic shook his head wildly, his lips twitching and ears flat once again, “Don’t you understand? I’m not here to weep my sad tale to you for shits and giggles. I am what I am today because of you. Don’t you get it?” he cried, a swore note ringing in his voice, like he was on the cusp of choking out a sob and it made Amy’s heart want to splinter into a million pieces. “I owe you everything!”

Still the monster in human skin looked unconvinced and tilted his head in question, though it looked only mocking and sneer. “So, you want to return the favour, is that it? Fill in your good deed for today?”

Amy could taste his bitterness and the way his dogs snapped back to attention at the sound of his impatience was like being dumped in a river. She had to do something. This song and dance, whatever it was, was reaching its climax and someone was going to get hurt.

Again, a flicker of caution danced over those emerald eyes. Just like that, the blue hedgehog retreated into himself again, his eyes fumbling around everywhere but the doctor’s face. “I do want to help you, but not because of that.”

The genius unlocked his arms from the almost permanent position in front of his chest, clutching them into tight fists. His face mimicked the aggression, it seemed his patience for Sonic’s antics had finally bled dry. “Stop wasting my time and out with it already! I’ve lingered here long enough.”

When Sonic didn’t answer right away, the genius growled and shook his head, taking this opportunity to leave. Amy was beyond thankful as the dogs moved to flank his sides like a military convoy, dust stirring under each of their combined steps. Sonic shook himself hard and took a step forward, arm outstretched.

“Wait!”

Surprizing her yet again, the genius did as he was told but did not turn around. “I’m getting increasingly tired of these meetings, hedgehog. Say your piece and move on-”

“-I want to help you because I love you damnit!” cried the hedgehog, panting with effort, like it had taken all he had to finally voice what had been festering on his tongue.

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Not even Eggman’s dogs seemed to make a sound, the whirling bits and pieces and engines that burned and churred within them seemingly disengaging under the gravity of what had been voiced. They didn’t even look at each other, not even at their boss. Instead they stared, wide mouthed and dumbfounded at the blue hedgehog.

Amy’s thoughts came to a gut-wrenching stop, the touch of unyielding silence hemorrhaging out like a fatal wound within her mind. To her, the once sturdy foundation of her world was about to implode and the black hole that would come form its aftermath would inevitably swallow her very essence whole. Her body was numb and for the first time in a very long time, her mind spilled nothing in the empty space that had swept in like a storm down a hill. She couldn’t feel her fingers, her palms tingling as did the soles of her feet. Her heart was crushing into itself, stabbing itself as that dark wolf she feed loomed near to watch the brutal carnage.

What?

No, no that just couldn’t be…

Maybe she had heard wrong?

Her mutilated heart felt ready to lunch itself into her throat, if only to expel itself out and onto the floor so that it could die.

There was no way-

Gradually, spinning all so elegantly on a heel, Ivo turned to look at the humble looking Mobian, his tail curled between his legs and his ears so tightly pressed to his skull, it looked like he didn’t have any at all. His voice, gravely and heavy, with an emotion she couldn’t even bring herself to interpret, breaking the silence that had settled in like a rock through a window. “What did you say?”

Sonic was shaking and even in her own state of disbelieve she was helpless to watch the spectacle as it unfolded, that wolf happily chewing on a nice chunk of her ignorance. 

“I said I love you!” The blue hedgehog repeated, unknowingly driving that ghost dagger deeper and deeper into Amy’s heart and soul.

No, no, nonononononono! This couldn’t be happening?!

“I am what I am today because of you! Do you know how much that hurts?” he pleaded, taking another shaking step forward as he stapled his arms at his sides. It was only a countermeasure so he would not fidget, as struck dumb as Amy was, she could see that much. His eyes were locked on the doctor now, weary and carful, as if trying to tame a monstrous dragon with nothing but his wits. 

“That I thrive off hurting you just to claim a reason to live in this world when I should be giving you all that I have.” That swore note in his tone again, like he was about to cry.

But Amy felt nothing, not even the hammer in her grip or the steel she was pressed against for fear of being spotted. She expected herself to cry but nothing came, just emptiness and hollow pain that left goring marks down her chest as it tumbled down into her very being.

“Are you off your rocker?” questioned the doctor, having shook of his stupor and having turned completely to face him. His dogs mimicked this action but slowly, still trying to compute the information no doubt, their servos spinning haphazardly. “Surely you don’t expect me to believe that crock of shit.”

Sonic swallowed hard and winced at the harshness of the tone, his body still trembling but it wasn’t from the cold, “I have never been surer of anything in my life. All these fights we had, it was all an effort for me to get you to understand. I’ve chased you from one side of the globe to another, even into the far reaches of space just to be next to you because you’re the only thing that keeps me alive.”

“You have poor taste in suitors and this changes nothing,” hissed the good doctor, straightening his spine as he made the move to leave again for the third time. He looked, dare she even let it cross her mind, nervous and anxious to get the hell out of dodge. 

This was a new look from the monster she had come to recognize. 

“I’ve lingered here long enough.” He repeated sternly, waving at his dogs to follow, and turn to him they did.

Sonic gasped and dashed forward before he could stop himself, whipping dust and debris as he planted himself before the doctor’s path arms out and face clearly distort. The dogs howled in outrage, the movement finally spooking them out of the forever loading screen they seemed to be sitting idly for. Spittle flew and Sonic had to take a fair step back to avoid the crushing devastation of Decoe’s outstretched jaws.

If either had just turned their heads, Amy would be standing clearly in view for all to see. Autopilot driving her movements as she followed to conversation within the coils of a desolated snake. She was breathing, or at least she thought she was, her world still staggering through a type of limbo that was neither fixed nor moving. It was jittering, fluctuating as emotions started to whirl within her, blubbing and with it, so was that wolf’s disgusting snickering.

“Please don’t leave, please don’t make me chase you again.” Sonic pleaded, taking another step back but only to make sure the dogs didn’t have a reason to lunge at him again. He was still within striking distance. 

He sighed when the dogs seemed to settle and Ivo once again crossed his arms over his chest, a pose the hedgehog knew was to show he was listening. The hedgehog reached deep for his courage again, digging at it like a desperate treasure hunter would in a scared tomb littered with hidden gems and jewels. “I’m getting tired, I’m getting older. I won’t live as long as you and you Robotniks have quiet the life expectancy.” 

A smile cracked his lips and for a second, his tail curved out from its hiding place when the doctor ever so slightly tilted his head in question. “I almost didn’t believe the General when he said males can live to two hundred years old.”

“Stay away from me.” Came a deadpan answer.

But Sonic wasn’t listening, determination was pumping through him because he knew that this was his last chance, possibly his only chance. “I know you’re breaking away from his hold, not fighting as hard as you used too. Gerald, the monster that he is, no longer consumes your every waking thought. With that chip gone, I say its only a matter of time before all he is, all he ever was, is a memory, a bitter one at that.”

Ivo shuttered violently, sneering out a loud bark of a laugh. “Do not assume what I will or will not do.”

Sonic glanced at the hounds, his ears straightening as well as his spine.

He was going to make this man see, even if it was the last thing he ever did. 

As unthreateningly as possible, he extended a demonstrating hand over to the hounds of metal and gears, their large crimson eyes whirling and narrowing on his person with interest. “You could have killed me so easily, don’t think I don’t know it. As they are now, compared to what they used to be, Decoe and Bocoe could have easily wiped me clean from this earth. You’ve turned into something the legends spoke off when they referred to Robotniks and their lineage across the centuries.”

Sonic only paused to take another deep breath, his eyes fastened onto the once maniacal doctor. “But you didn’t. And I have a theory as to why.”

“Enlightening me then, oh hero of earth.” Came a dry reply, the mad scientist looking fed-up but also tired, mentally drained.

If Amy had been in the right state of mind, her senses not currently tumbling down the hill that was her sanity, she would have been surprized to know that the monster could actually feel and look drained. Like that fathomless pit of energy, he displayed even in throngs of failure, so similar to Sonic and yet so different, actually possessed a bottom.

That it wasn’t never-ending, not at all like she had led herself to believe.

Sonic returned his hand to his side and continued with the most conviction and sincerely he could muster, feeling the clock of opportunity chiming quietly somewhere in the back of his head. “Deep down, I think the real you is screaming for someone to help you and has been all long. All those plans but with clever loop holes to get passed them, flaws in their make. Robotnik’s are too smart for their own good to let those kinds of things get by.”

Silence only echoed out within the void and Sonic contently powered through again, more than adrenaline pumping through his veins, heart rattling against his ribs. “Subconsciously, you knew I would figure it out and stop you, you wanted me too, needed me too because you didn’t have the control to do it yourself. You, oh last of your kind,” he chimed, looking like he delighted from the irritated snort that Ivo huffed, “knew that I could be the one to take that pain away.”

“That’s a big accusation and assumption.”

A step forward, “I want to save you.”

A grunt and a sigh that seemed almost forlorn, “What if I don’t want to be saved?”

“Than I will chase you, till breath leaves me.” Came an unwavering rebuttal.

Amy felt her heart threaten to squeeze itself dry, shock still enthralling her poor little body.

She watched from her perch as silence spilled into the empty air again, surrounding and enveloping all within it, echoing the feeling of loss and despair within her. The wind rushed within the vacant space, ghosting through those long coattails and Sonic’s long quills, the two staring each other down. For the blue hedgehog, his eyes glimmered with hope and determination but for the human monster, his eyes cloaked with dark spectacles, he looked unmoved.

As the seconds dragged on to a minute, the genius huffed out another sigh, “What of the girl?”

Sonic blinked owlishly, “What girl?”

A snarl tore through those lips and for the first time, the man took an encroaching step forward. “The one that badgers you like a trained blood hound.”

Amy felt her heart leap back into her throat and with it, hope gave out a spark that she was desperately trying to flame and burn.

It must have all been a mistake.

It had to be.

How could someone, a hero like Sonic and all he stood for, love a man, no, a monster such as Eggman?

Sonic frowned and shook his head, “Amy Rose is nothing more than an annoyance,” that knife tore itself through her again, cutting deeper and with more teeth than before, “I could never love her because she couldn’t embrace what I am and what I need. She would have me stay in one place, settle down and roll over like a tame pet till age takes me.”

Again, her imaginary hate, the wolf made real, laughed at her within the abyss of her own head, her mind unable to turn anything into light. The fire of her eternal hope, to which she had believed steadfastly had no end was snuffed out in the matter of minutes. Joining that wolf’s disgusting laughter, its howls drowning the catacombs within her mind and soul, Sonic’s words echoed with it.

I could never love her…

Had everything she thought she knew really and truly been a lie?

Was that the reason why no one took her seriously when she proclaimed her love and soul to the blue speeding hero? Was it so obvious that he hadn’t had any intention of being with her?

More importantly, how had she missed this development when it was going on right under her nose?

Feeling like a husk that had been drained of all its essence and life, she crouched low and made her hammer go away, the will for anything and everything slipping through her fingers like water. It pooled within her like a bog, disgusting and festering.

Reeking of self-loathing and death.

Sonic took a step forward to match the doctor, looking up at him intently. Had she been paying closer attention, she would have been gobsmacked by the gentle lament his voice had taken, “She doesn’t spur the kind of feelings that you do inside of me.”

A brow raised in question, the angle of his head and the perch the brow had taken almost mocking. “And what kind of feelings are those?”

In a flicker of movement, which rattled the hedgehog from his ears to his toes, his body language morphed before her eyes. From cocky to sheepish, the Mobian looked to be fighting the urge to fold in on himself, hands flexing and unflexing as for a second his eyes drifted away from the doctor before snapping back. Amy felt her stomach churn with something she could only assume was disgust, a coy expression fluttering over that smile she once coveted more than her own safety. 

In a moment, she saw herself, standing ready but bashful before the creature she craved more than anything this earth had to offer and to hell with the emeralds and all they could do.

The only difference was Sonic was in her place, hungry and nipping for attention and the evil doctor himself was the hero she longed to entice.

It was as if she was watching reality for the first time when all she had seen before was fairy-tale, myth, and mythical wonders no more real than the boogey man under children’s’ beds.

Her stomach wanted to heave, to spill out from her throat and over her tongue, passed her teeth and onto the ground below. Her heart was a mess and for a moment it seemed incapable of beating for the longer this drew out, the more it was sinking in how real and how raw this scene was playing out before her.

Her body wanted to withdrawal into itself and die.

“The usual desire and hunger most would associate with lust, but the mere thought of you does more than just those arbitrary things.” Said the hedgehog hero softly, the edge to his tone completely obliterated and instead something raw was stirring up in its wake. 

The doctor merely huffed and rolled his shoulders, though it was visible constrained with those same arms still locked over his chest like a vice. Decoe and Bocoe however looked beyond entranced, captivated by the scene playing out before them. Metal no longer ruffled and eyes dimmed to a neutral and standard brilliance, all hostility drained from the programing that had at one moment churned and grit with the urge to kill and maim.

It only served to puncture more holes into the little dream that Amy had built around herself for so many years. Dimly, she remembered that the dogs could sniff out a lie, Tails had told her so himself. They could detect it through several easily testable ways but she had long since forgotten the list. They were now neutral because they didn’t sense or even hear a wisp of deception.

What was playing before her was…

Her heart shuttered and squirmed.

The wolf she fed howled in bloody ecstasy.

Seeing as the doctor was making no inclination of leaving, Sonic continued, a blush scorching the sides of his fleshy muzzle. “Everything about you makes my soul burn and I only get a glimpse of that feeling when I’m running at top speed.” He admitted gently, fighting a rather demanding urge to fidget.

“Those mannerisms you have, how full-heartedly you pour everything you have into one thing, the commitment you have till the bitter end.” He licked his lips and swallowed, looking nervous and unsure but untiring to see the end through. His eyes never faltered from those hidden behind tinted lenses.

“Your never say never attitude really speaks to me though, you understand what it means to never give up and when at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. We are more alike then I had originally imagined.”

Eggman looked unmoved while Amy was sure roadkill had more life in it then she did. “We are nothing alike.”

Sonic raised a brow in question, mocking, just as Ivo had done not so long ago. “Are you so sure? I know you feel the same hot adrenaline I do at a new chance of adventure. I also know that our clashes, though to you at the time I was no more than a thorn in your side, you greatly anticipated our chance meetings.”

Again, he was met with silence and he took the window of opportunity to plow right through, that traitorous blush back on his face. “I can’t tell you how wild I get after being apart from you for so long, how desperate I feel knowing that you’re far away and I don’t know where or even how to get to you. And when you finally reveal yourself, I feel like a part of me has come back, like the embers have sparked back and I’m not a cold husk anymore.” Unable to help himself, his fingers danced with each other in restless abandon, looking as if he was torn between running for the hills and running into the embrace of the doctor before him.

Nervously, he teethed on his next statement, the blush completely enveloping his face now and dimly, it shocked the pink hedgehog in her roost. She couldn’t remember seeing that shade of colour on him. “I’m sure you feel empty too, when we are apart.”

It looked as if Eggman had rolled his eyes, turning away and thankfully toward the direction opposite Amy, hidden as she was, she was sure some part of her was still visible. “I feel nothing for anyone, there is no point. A Robotnik is not supposed to be happy.”

Sonic took another step forward, his blush only slightly receding, his eyes flickering with want. “I want to make you happy.”

Ivo shook his head and took a step back at the advance, stating firmly down at the hedgehog, “You don’t know me.”

Sonic shook his head, taking another step close in his advance, grateful that the dogs remained where they were, interested and subdued. “But I do, fifteen years we have done this dance and I can’t handle it anymore. I know you feel the same way I do, you burn for me like I for you.”

Ivo growled low in his throat in frustration, “The world will not except this, they will never forget the things I have done.”

“They will when you show what you are truly capable of, the true scope of what a Robotnik can accomplish when he isn’t dragged down by old hatred and a piece of neurological hardware.” Countered the hedgehog, his blush gone and now replaced with a disturbingly happy grin. 

“Also,” he chimed in, “spreading the news about how the Commander had a hand in your creation could sway a few people, especially with the dirt I have collected. After all, he released you just so he would give reason to creating bigger and better weapons. He was war hungry and what better way to get people to see your point of view when something terrifying actually stomps over the horizon?”

If possible, that grin stretched higher, “No many people are aware that GUN was going to go belly up in terms of its weapons division. Before you arrived on the scene, there hadn’t be any kind of earth shattering disaster in over sixty years. Minor little ruffled rebellions aside.”

“They will riot.” Came a stern reply after several minutes leisurely ticked by.

Another step forward, “Let them.”

“They will turn on you.”

Another step, “I don’t care.”

Ivo growled again as the hedgehog was only an arm’s length away now, “You will lose everything you fought for, the standing you have amongst the people.”

Sonic shrugged his shoulders, believing he was close enough and rested his hands on his hips. “I only have that because of you anyway.”

The Robotnik snorted and rolled his shoulders, but his voice was softer, like he was giving up. “You are making a mistake.”

“One of many I’ve already made I’m sure, but I will assure you, having you is no mistake.” He looked timid again, “If anything, its probably one of the smartest things I’ve ever done.”

“I cannot forgive them for what they have done, not as more of my memories return.” Admitted Ivo quietly, one hand daring to unclasp itself from his chest and ghost gloved fingers over his scars. 

Though it looked far from hostile, the Robotnik looked down at the hedgehog, a lopsided frown twisting his moustache, “They took everything from me, why should I even consider assisting them?”

Sonic frowned in a heartbeat and nodded, sincere understanding almost bleeding off his skin and face. It made Amy want to cry if she could have willed herself too. “I know and I don’t expect you too. But it would give you purpose and I know you’re desperately trying to find new reason in life. I can’t keep chasing you and I don’t want to fight you anymore.”

The titan of a man leaned away and looked out towards the horizon, unwilling to meet that piercing gaze anymore. “You only want it now because of what you have seen.”

That contagious grin was back in a heart beat, “I admit it did give me the final push and what did you expect? The evil villain that I have been fighting for fifteen years was really just a victim of circumstance and one elder’s grudge? I often think what would have happened if Commander and his family had not acted out and you had just grown up like you were supposed to.” That smile dipped, but only a fraction, “It hurts me more than you can ever imagine.”

The Robotnik turned back to look at him, surprised and confused. “And why is that?”

“Cause I never would have meet you.”

Amy felt something pull away from her in that moment, the tension that was gradually easing away between these two was turning into something more. She could feel the shift, even with the numbness that had taken over every single inch of her, both externally and internally. The sincerity and sweet tone that her hero was expressing was only nailing the message closer and closer.

“I would have been the forgotten soul on the sidewalk and you would have most likely been the next Gerald of your clan.” That grin was back but it was tinged with sadness, “You would have ascended to greatness without me even existing.”

Amy pressed her face into her hands as the inclination suddenly dawned on her. Would she have even noticed him if he hadn’t have met Eggman? Never in her wildest dreams would she ever allowed herself to believe that she owed Eggman something for showing her the path to someone she ultimately adored and worshipped more than anything else on this blessed earth. But now, it chilled her deeper than Sonic’s complete fascination and wordship of a man whom had been earth’s own angel of destruction for fifteen years.

Would she even have given him the time of day?

Would she had even noticed him?

Would they have even crossed paths?

It terrified her more than she imagined, more so because she knew, as cruel and jaded as it was, she would have never pursued him life this if he hadn’t had saved her.

And that would have only had occurred if Eggman had been in the picture.

Their chance meeting was only because Sonic was chasing Eggman the same way she had been chasing him.

“I see.” Came a calculated response and the dogs at his sides titled their heads in question.

Sonic felt his heart speed up, the gentleness and sweet calculation was a clear sign the doctor was considering the proposition the hedgehog was offering. But this wasn’t the end, he had to commit to the final push. 

“And to answer your previous statement,” he began, only hesitating till the genius focused back on his person before continuing.

“I have always had these feelings for you, you were the most secure thing in my life, you gave me purpose, strength and, heck, courage. I knew when our battles became a short of twisted routine that I wanted to have you because you were a reflection of me, something tangible but different. You weren’t like the others, fickle and normal, you were sick like me,” he gestured to himself, grin wide and brilliant, “hostile and power hungry like me. You wanted more and fought for it. Not many understand what that means.”

That flush flickered onto his face again but he refused to cripple him, “I admit, I had hoped that with every confrontation I would eventually take over your every waking moment. I wanted to consume you as you have done to me.”

Amy wanted to be sick, she really did, she could feel the weight of her dinner churning within her and slurping up her esophagus in retaliation, but the up-lifting jump of her stomach did not come. It burned and seared her as the numbness finally started to ebb away and, in its wake, came her deep seeded anger that had been festering in the shadows since this standoff had begun.

It only blistered as the genius of a man allowed a smile to crawl onto his lips, small but there. “The desperate look suits you, hedgehog.”

Sonic repressed a shutter and leaned forward slightly, taking a smaller step forward, now but a couple of inches away. “And I am desperate.” He stated, “Please, come with me, take the job and stay with me. I already asked the military and Decoe and Bocoe are cleared to join as well.”

The dogs chirped and whined at the mention of their names and looked back up at their master, still undeterred by how close their once mortal enemy was to their creator and god. “I know how much they mean to you.”

Suddenly, a serious and heavy sensation flared within the area and a grim look settled over Ivo’s face. He leaned in close to the hedgehog’s personal space but the hedgehog refused to move, to give even an inch. “I want to warn you hedgehog, a Robotnik’s love is eternal, even in death I will look for you. You will not escape me.”

It was by no means a threat, but from where Amy was standing, it certainly looked at sounded like one. To Sonic however, it was the beginnings of a declaration that Ivo was unravelling and considering even agreeing to Sonic’s proposition. The end of the race was insight and he could not only taste victory but smell it too.

It smelt of pine needles, metal and fresh air.

Sonic leveled a mocking glare up at the male, “Well, if it didn’t end in a big chase I would say we were losing our edge.”

Ivo leaned back but only slightly and titled his head again, “Is this something you will regret?”

The blue hedgehog shook his head, “The only thing I regret is not getting this close sooner.”

“What will you tell you companions?”

“They will have to deal with it.” Came a stern answer, quick and sharp. Sonic would be damned if his friends somehow got in the way of this, “I signed my soul over to the military too so its not like I’ll have to see them everyday. I can live there and not on their couches.”

The Robotnik’s eyes rose in surprise but only by a little. And it only made Sonic’s need burn brighter. “What of the hedgehog?”

“I told you, Amy holds no competition against you.”

Chaos, Amy wanted to die. 

“She will not like this.”

She would have never guessed her day would have ended like this.

“And I don’t care.” God her heart wanted to blister within itself under the self-loathing that was ballooning within. “She will find someone else that deservers her attention. The only one that deservers mine is you, I only want a chance to prove myself worthy of yours.”

Anger seared through her, from the tips of her toes to the points of her ears. A dull ringing of her rage muffling the sounds of the wolf’s ever-present laughter.

That smile was back, bashful as it was gentle, “I never pegged you for a softy hedgehog.”

“Only for you.” Reaffirmed the hedgehog, a concerned look over taking his boastful grin, “Will you take the deal? Will you be with me?”

By Chaos he sounded so desperate.

Amy yearned to hear that same plea, dreamed and fantasized and hungered for it every waking moment of her life the moment they had crossed paths. Part of her almost wondered if the day would ever come and she would just be forever chasing the shadowy tail of her magical high that was personified within a blue Mobian hedgehog with super sonic speed and a thrill for adventure. Never once had it occurred to her that she would be witnessing it from a third person perceptive, that this dream she had chased for so long would come to fruition, be towards someone else.

Even furthest from her mind, would it be in the presences of her mortal enemy.

A huge breath exhaled from the man, looking like defeat and with it, the tension seemed to evaporate from the air. “Very well, my little blue hedgehog, I will except your proposal.” 

Sonic smiled brightly but looked still unconvinced. “To join the military?”

Eggman waved his hand nonchalantly before himself, looking down at the Mobian with what looked like an exasperated expression. “I fail to see what else there is.”

But the hedgehog wasn’t falling for it, beaming up, almost giddy, at the titan of a man, “What about being my boyfriend?”

Amy felt another part of her shatter, this one harder than any other before and she bit into her hand to stop the scream of anguish that swelled within. It hurt, the only pain outside the internal conflict within she could feel or even remember feeling. Soon after it registered, a new taste came with it, mixing the perfume she wore, coppery as it was metallic.

Her own blood.

“I don’t think you’ll be so keen on the idea once you live in close proximity to me, hedgehog.” Came a steady reply, levelling a serious and cautious look down at the over eager Mobian. “This is merely infatuation you feel.”

But the hedgehog would not be deterred, blistering joy bubbling within, he would not be swayed from what he truly coveted. “Guess we’ll only know if we try, so howboutit?”

Another sigh, this one hard and long, “Since you seem so gun hoe, very well.”

Sonic let out a loud whoop in success, fist bumping the air and doing several spin dashes before settling down back before the Robotnik again. The outburst had startled both robotic canines and their face panels twitched with uncertainty but a dismissing wave from their master quieted them down within a second. 

“Yes!” Sonic cheered again, a sassy and almost hungry look crossing over his face, “Come on, Babe! We have an eager General to meet, can I hold your hand?”

He extended a paw in waiting but the doctor huffed and brushed him off. “Knock it off, you’re embarrassing yourself.”

Still the hedgehog didn’t seem to be bothered by the refusal, he understood that he simply had to work at it harder and now with the new opportunity, he would have plenty of time and resources at his disposal. With a motion, he asked the doctor to follow him to the small GUN escort that was patiently awaiting his return over at the far boarder of this forgotten wasteland.

“Never and I’ll prove to you that this isn’t a stupid fling.”

Eggman brushed him off again, annoyance teasing his voice, “Yes, yes, yes, whatever. Decoe, Bocoe, we move.”

The dogs howled in unison and moved into a powerful gait as they took flanking sides, Sonic staying as close as possible to the doctor’s side, in case he got cold feet and decided to make a retreat.

Amy watched them go within the cold night, tears rolling down her cheeks and blood oozing from the laceration in her hand. Only when she was sure they were gone did she sob, her own howls echoing out throughout the night.

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Thank you so much for reading!

I know this isn't a particularly well received ship, but I wanted to try something different and that was not the typical norm. This is what I came up with and I must say I am very proud of it. Please let me know what you think in the comments below.


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